Placed in deep hole
With the manner of how they won Game 2, Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone is quite surprised with the way his Gin Kings have taken a 2-0 lead over San Miguel Beer in their best-of-five PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinal series.
Not that he doesn’t want it.
“We didn’t even dream that we would be able to get out even 1-1, much less 2-0, so we’re definitely on a roll,” Cone said after a 126-99 rout of the Beermen at Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Friday. “Our offense is clicking and guys are locked in defensively.”
“We’re just trying to keep pressure on San Miguel, keep attacking and keep going at them.”
A near triple-double from import Jordan Murphy, the outside shooting of RJ Abarrientos and Stephen Holt, the all-around work of Scottie Thompson, plus defensive effort from Isaac Go enabled Ginebra to move a win shy of advancing to the semifinals despite a rough start to the conference.
“So far, it’s working, and I really don’t have any complaints at this point,” Cone said.
Ginebra can go for the sweep on Tuesday down south, when the PBA makes a rare return to Dasmariñas, Cavite. And Cone wants to make sure his Kings won’t give the Beermen a lifeline.
“Two games don’t make a series, as we all know, we’ve heard this many times before,” he added.
Murphy had 33 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Gin Kings continued their turnaround since he arrived as a replacement for Riley Grigsby. The import known for muscling his way inside has led Ginebra to five wins in six appearances.
San Miguel couldn’t solve just Murphy’s play, but Ginebra as a collective unit. The Beermen would eventually fall to a big margin in the second half that they could not get over.
And now the Beermen will look to at least extend the series to a fourth game, even after a defeat that seemed like a stinger, psychologically.
Meanwhile, NLEx and TNT seek a sweep of their respective series on Sunday at the same venue.
NLEx will take a crack at becoming the first team to qualify for the semis in their 5:15 p.m. meeting with Phoenix in Game 3 before TNT tries to bring out the broom against Magnolia at 7:30 p.m.
The Road Warriors gained a 2-0 lead last Wednesday with a 124-117 win in Antipolo, but they remain wary given their experience of squandering previous quarterfinal advantages in the past.
“Excited to be this close, but we can’t think too much about it because anything can happen. It’s a best-of-five series,” said NLEx gunner Robert Bolick.
TNT, on the other hand, is also gearing up for the knockout punch after Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the way in demolishing Magnolia in both games.
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